Carson City seniors still waiting to move into affordable housing

The wait continues for local seniors to start moving into units at Autumn Village, affordable rental housing on Beverly Drive east of the Carson City Senior Center.

The city building department hasn’t issued the Certificate of Occupancy required before residents start calling the place home.

And the city won’t issue the certificate if “there are any life or safety issues outstanding” in its construction, said Kevin Gattis, chief building official.

Though Gattis wouldn’t specify what needs to be fixed, he did say it appears the work could be completed within weeks.

The developer, Community Development Inc., in Caldwell, Idaho, initially planned to have the 47-unit building completed late last year.

Postponements because of excessive rain and snow, and to a lesser extent cost-saving design changes, pushed the opening date to spring, then summer, with the most recent missed projection being July 31.

“The city is looking out for its citizens,” said Janice McIntosh, senior center director. “It’s an issue of safety.”

Construction on the first phase of the project began in March 2005. Unpaid fees in excess of $100,000 related to paperwork erroneously classifying the project’s water use as commercial instead of residential aren’t why the certificate wasn’t given to the developer, said Andy Burnham, the city’s development services director.

City officials didn’t immediately recognize the papers filed by the developer were wrong, but made them aware of the problem – and additional cost – once it was discovered, Burnham said.

“We’re working with them,” Burnham said of the payment situation. “We’re not going to hold them up for that.”

A second 41-unit dwelling for similar renters is under construction. Called Autumn Village 2, it’s also for seniors with lower incomes. Work began on this second phase before the first was completed to meet an income tax credit deadline. If it hadn’t started, the credit would be lost, McIntosh said.

“It would have meant the difference between building the project and not building the project,” she said. “And without the city giving them the property, it might not have been built at all.”

Names of seniors waiting to live in the rentals fill the waiting list for the second phase, as was the case when names were being taken for the first, said Megan Harris, compliance manager at Somerset Pacific.

“There have been many dates we have hoped for,” Harris said of the process. “It’ll be nice once we have the Certificate of Occupancy.”

The senior center partnered with CDI to build it. Somerset Pacific, a subsidiary of CDI also in Caldwell, Idaho, will manage it. Cost to build both locations is an estimated $12 million.

“There have been a lot of misstarts, but it will be wonderful,” McIntosh said. “The city wants to see it completed as soon as possible, too.”